Cold Coffee

This is a simple and refreshing drink for those hot days. The recipe of this Cold Coffee was shared to me by my sister who knows tons of such beverage recipes.
For the cold coffee:
2 Cups ice cream (Vanilla or chocolate)
1 Cup Chilled Milk
2 spoons Sugar
1/2 spoon Coffe powder

Blend all the ingrdients together in a blender for about a minute.
Serving Suggestion: Add some whipped cream on top just before serving(If you do not care about the calories)

Sweet Lassi

Summer is round the corner and this beverage will do good for your health as well as the hot climate. It is basically a yoghurt based drink and those who detest yoghurt would be better off keeping away from it.

For the Lassi,
2 parts - yoghurt,plain
1 part - ice
sugar - to taste

In a blender jar,add the ingredients and blend till smooth. Your Lassi is ready. Serve chilled or immediately after blending.
For a variation,try adding some juice just before serving. I added orange juice and it gave me lassi a twist that I enjoyed

Avial

Here's a dish from Southern India that is full of vegetables and rich in taste. Not only is this a versaltile dishes(you could mix and match your own veggies) , it consumes less time as well for preparation.
The origin of Avial dates back to the state of kerala in Southern India. I have tasted many variations of Avial and I still do not know the authentic one and neither have I done any research on this. If any of you probably know,then do post it here for me and others to get educated. This is one dish you will love to cook over and over again.

For my version of Avial, here is what you will need:

Vegetables:

Any of the following(atleast 3-4)

2 medium carrots

3-4 string beans

1/2 of a cucumber

1 medium potato

2-3 Drumsticks

2-3 pieces of cubed brinjal
a few pieces of chooped snake gourd pieces

a handful of peas(frozen or fresh)

Grated Cocunut,about 1 cup(A little more or less is fine)

2-3 spoons,Coconut Oil(I used parachute oil)

a few curry leaves

greenchillies,3-4 or to taste

cumin seeds, 1 spoon

2-3 spoons of plain yoghurt

turmeric,1/4 of a spoon (optional)

Salt to taste

Chop all the veggies that you will be using length wise and keep aside.

Heat a skillet and add a spoon of coconut oil. Add the turmeric and then the veggies. Toss it lightly and then add a little water.Water should be just enough to cover the veggies. Throw in the curry leaves. Cover it and cook for about 10 minutes.Let is come to a boil. The vegetables need to get tender and soft.

In the meanwhile, grind together the grated coconut,green chillies and cumin seeds adding little water.

Once the veggies have cooked, add this coconut paste to it and mix well. Let it cook for another 3-4 minutes.Now,switch off the stove. Drizzle the remaining coconut oil on top of this.

Add yoghurt just before serving. This is a very good side to rotis as well as rice.

Spinach and potato stuffed parathas

I love spinach and had a bunch with me today. In the mood to experiment? Try these spinach-potato stuffed parathas.

You will need:
1/2 bunch spinach - chopped roughly
2 medium potatoes - boiled and shredded
Wheat Flour/Chappati Flour - 1.5 to 2 cups and a little extra for dusting
Green chillies - finely chopped,to taste
Garam masala - optional,to taste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt to taste
cooking oil, 1 spoon
water for the dough,about 1 cup

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except water and shredded potatoes. Mix it well. Slowly,add water till it forms a dough consistency that is used for parathas. Let the dough stand for about 20 minutes atleast. Next,make small balls of the shredded potato and keep aside. Using a rolling pin and your kitchen counter top, start to roll out the parathas half-way. Stuff it with the potato filling and again roll it to an even shape.
In the meanwhile, heat a skillet on low flame. Place the parathas on the skillet and let it get cooked for about 30 seconds. Then,flip the side. After 3o seconds,smear both sides with oil and take it off the skillet. The cooking time may take a little longer than 30 seconds too,depending on the flame.
Enjoy with Onion raita and pickle or any gravy side.

Tiramisu - The eternal Italian desert

This is an absolutely heavenly treat. Chances are that you would more than agree with me,if you have tasted this and if you have never tasted this, then here's a recipe that you could try it. This post is dedicated to my cousin ,Pam, who is a big fan of Tiramisu. Pam,I hope you like this :)

8 oz,Mascarpone cheese

4 tbsp, Powdered Sugar

Instant coffee powder,about 2 spoons

1 cup heavy whipped cream

Cocoa Powder(unsweetened),for dusting/serving

Water for making coffee,about 1-1.5 cups

1 packet,lady finger biscuits (image at the side)

2-3 tbsp of Rum(optional)

Boil some water and dissolve the coffee powder in it(no milk). Let it cool to room temperature. Add rum now,if using.

In the meanwhile, take a mixing bowl, stir together the Cheese and 2 tbsp of sugar. Add a little of the coffee into this,about 3 tbsp. Now, fold in the Whipping cream and additional 2 tbsp of sugar.Mix well. You may use an electric mixer for a faster process. If you are using hand,then will take you about 4-5 mins to get the mixure completely blended.

Next,arrange half the packet of the lady fingers on your kitchen platform. Take a bowl/baking dish or any casserole where two layers of the ladyfingers can fit in as seen in the picture. Carefully, dip the ladyfingers into the coffee and keep it in a dish one next to another.

Note: Do not dip the fingers in coffee for too long, you need to dip just for a second ,otherwise they will fall apart.

Apply an even layer of the cheese and cream mix to this. Dust some cocoa on top of this layer. Use a sifter for doing so.

Next,place another layer of coffee dipped lady fingers and again apply another layer of cream and cheese followed by sifting cocoa.

Cover and refrigerate(NOT FREEZE) for 3-4 hours. Overnight refrigeration would be great.

Tiramisu is now ready to serve. Sprinkle a little more of cocoa and sugar,when you serve.

White Raddish/Daikon Curry

How about using Raddish in cooking today?Never given a thought to Raddish as a curry? It is definitely one of those vegetables which does not have a tolerable odour.But,Raddish is rich in Vitamin C and is also known to posses cancer-protective poperties. It is also good for diabetes patients.

Mooli paratha is a satisying meal on its own. But,as a curry too raddish is tasty. Do give this one a try!

What you will need

1 cup white raddish/daikon-finely shredded
1 small onion-finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon
urad dal - 1/2 spoon
asafoetida - 1 pinch
curry leaves - 4-5 in no.
ginger-garlic paste - 1 spoon
Corriander /dhaniya powder - about 1 spoon
Kitchen king masala - 1/2 spoon(optional)
Chilli powder - as per taste
Salt to taste
Oil for stir-frying
Cilantro/corriander leaves for the garnish
Lemon juice - 2 tsp(or to taste) - optional

Heat oil in a skillet/kadai and splutter mustard seeds. Once done,add cumin seeds,urad dal followed by asafoetida and curry leaves.

Next add the onions and saute for 2-3 mins.Add ginger garlic paste.Let it cook for 1-2 mins more.
Now,added the shredded raddish.Let it cook for about 5 mins. Raddish releases water while cooking so may take some time to cook. After about 5 mins ,add all the dry spices and mix well. Continue cooking it until all the water is absorbed . This might take about 3-5 mins.
Switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro.
Add lemon juice before serving(optional). Enjoyed best with rice and dal/sambhar. It goes well with rotis too.

Spinach Dal

Spinach and lentils together is one dish packed with protein and iron. This is unique combination and a great dish for rotis as well as rice. This dish is a super-fast dish. the only job involved is chopping spinach;so use frozen spinach(16 oz packet) if you wish!!!

What you will need:

Spinach - 1/2 bunch,chopped

Moong dal - 1/2 cup(Toor dal can be used as well)

Onion - 1 small,finely chopped

Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 spoon

garlic - 2 pods,crushed

dry Red Chilli - 1

curry leaves - to taste

asafoetida - 1 pinch

tamarind paste(1/4 spoon) or 1/2 cup tamarind water

Salt to taste

Chilli powder - According to taste

Sambhar powder - 1 spoon (optional)

Oil - 2 tbsp

Cook dal with 1 cup(or a little more) of water using a pressure cooker or any vessel. If using a pressure cooker,allow two whistles on medium flame. If not using pressure cooker,then dal will take 10-15 mins to boil on stove-top.

Once this is ready,heat oil in a skillet/kadai. As it heats up add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter followed by cumin seeds,red chilly,curry leaves, garlic, onion. Saute for 2-3 mins till the onions turn golden brown.

Next ,add chopped spinach leaves and saute till it wilts(about 2 mins). Now add the cooked dal and mix well. Allow it to come to a boil. Add salt,Chilli powder,Sambar powder and tamarind paste.

Switch off the stove and serve hot.